It is estimated that worldwide there are several million persons that are afflicted with disabling ailments such as Alzheimers and Parkinson disease and other disabling impairments resulting from neurological dysfunctions due to damage of the contra-lateral motor strip, strokes and the like. In many cases, these ailments caused the hand and/or the arm to pulse and tremble at a rate that makes writing and printing very difficult to perform.
Many attempts have been made in the past to provide invasive and non-invasive devices that would steady the hand sufficiently to allow writing and printing to be facilitated. The prior art has disclosed various designs of these non-invasive devices that allow the hand of a normal, non-afflicted person to be steadied. These devices, however, are either to bulky, lack portability and most importantly, do not provide the degree of control required to allow a trembling hand to be steadied sufficiently to allow for smooth writing. The ability to be able to once again write easily and legibly certainly adds to the selfworth and esteem of mentally and physically challenged persons.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention however, the following U.S. patents were considered related:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 1,669,755 Hopper 15 May 1928 1,184,155 Williams 27 May 1916 578,773 Rhone 16 Mar 1897 485,440 Thornhill 1 Nov 1892 ______________________________________
The Hopper patent discloses a combined guard and corrective appliance for writing instruments The appliance consists of a pen or pencil that is slipped into a sleeve clip that includes a lug with an eyelet. Movably attached to the eyelet is an arm that extends outwardly from the pen. To use the appliance, the pen is normally held and the outwardly extending arm is grasped by the remaining finger. The pen is then placed upon the surface of the writing paper and the end of the arm is allowed to rest and glide on the paper. The arm as it glides over the paper, along with the pen, affords support to the hand to thus, steady the hand during the writing operation.
The Williams patent discloses a device designed to teach penmanship. The device consists of an elongated body having a bore on one end and a ball shaped section on the opposite end. To use the device, the hole is placed over a pen or pencil and then the body is clasped in the hand with the pen situated in the correct writing position. The ball is allowed to rest on the paper so that when writing, the hand is resting on the tips of the nails of the third and fourth fingers rather than upon the fleshy part of the hand.
The Rhone patent discloses a pen holder designed to relieve writing cramps and to rest the hand by allowing the position of the holder in the hand to be changed. The device consists of a handle with a sleeve attached to its forward end. Within the sleeve is pivotally attached a cylinder socket/holder that holds a pen point. To use the device, the cylinder socket/holder is pivoted outwardly and the pen is normally held. The handle and sleeve, which are normal to the cylinder socket/holder, is grasped within the hand with the handle and sleeve projecting from the respective sides of the hand. The device may be used as an ordinary pen holder and when the hand becomes cramped the socket/holder may be turned outwardly and held as described.
The Thornhill patent discloses a carrier that guides a pen or pencil when writing. The carrier is made of wire in the form of a V-shaped loop with the arms of the loop having at their extremities eyes for receiving and holding the pen or pencil in place. One of the arms is provided with an eye for receiving the fourth finger and a loop for receiving the first finger. To use the carrier, the pen or pencil is inserted into the eyes and the fourth and first fingers are inserted into their respective eye and loop. The carrier is then guided along the writing surface.